The Flawed Rose
by daylight.melody
Summary: A 17 year old girl named Anna visits the Museum of Guertena, a famous, yet mysterious painter. But within his museum, many strange events unfold. Soon she finds herself welcomed to "The World of Guertena".
1. Chapter 1 - The Museum

The fascination that I felt for Guertena's paintings was unexplainable. And knowing that there was a whole Gallery full of his work, I had to go see it. But, what made it difficult was the Gallery was in Japan, since I didn't have the money for a trip like that. But through a hell of a lot of working and birthday money, I eventually got to go with my mom.

My interest in Guertena began in Art class one day, when I saw a book called "Guertena's Works," I had to look through it because of the strange name that I didn't know how to pronounce. But that's not what caught my attention about him. What had caught my attention was as I reached out to the book, and touched its cover; a chill ran down my spine. The chill was similar to someone running a sharp nail along my spine, and caused me to drop the book. The thud of the book matched the thud of my suddenly racing heart. And since that experience, my curiosity got the best of me. And his paintings inspired my own.

As I packed for the trip, knowing that we would stay there for two weeks, I packed as much as I could. And on the other side of the room lay my Sketchbook. I smiled to myself, thinking, _what would I need my sketchbook for?_ But as I zipped up my bag, I realized I could use it as a pastime, and for some reason, I felt like I needed to bring it, little did I know it would do more than simply be a pastime.

Coming out of the plane, and taking in the sights of Japan, I smiled at my Mother, feeling the tourist-y fascination in the foreign country.

It was not until we actually got to the Gallery when my excitement began to fade. Sudden fear settled into my stomach for unknown reasons. The numbers of tourists outside of the museum were remarkable. All taking pictures in front of the sign, walking through the gardens, and there was even big bushes of roses of colors I've never seen before, like purple, blue, yellow, and one I have seen before, red. The front door was wide open and welcoming.

"Anna," my Mom pulled me out of my thoughts, "We should walk through the gardens later, but we should look around first."

"Ok, cool. Whatever you say." She smiled at me, a smile that seemed contagious. She was blonde, and had blue eyes. But I had been stuck with brown hair and eyes due to my Father. It would have been awesome to have blue eyes, but dark hair.

As I walked through the door, the same chill from when I touched the book came back. My vision became hazy, my heart beats loud in my ears. Instead of feeling my body hit the floor, I felt myself falling into a dream-like haze. Flashes of horrifying images flashed through my eyes, paintings that crawled, statues that walked, and black arms reaching out to grab me. Lastly, I felt two hands on my face, whipping away tears, whispering, "Everything is going to be alright." The voice comforted me, even though I couldn't identify it. I snapped back to reality to realize it had only been seconds, and felt a single tear down my cheek. I quickly wiped it away before my Mom noticed.

"Are you alright? You look a little pale…" I blinked at my mother, still hazy from the vision I had.

"N… No, I'm fine, just hungry I guess."

"We'll stay here for about an hour and go get some snacks or something."

"Yeah, okay."

Although the vision and the chill concerned me, I didn't mention it to my Mom; she would just say I'd been watching too many horror movies.

The inside of the Gallery was actually quite plain. White walls and a couple windows that would help you see the next room. I grabbed a brochure for later, and began walking around. I looked at the main entrance painting, the "Abyss of the Deep," and thought, _that isn't a very good entrance painting_. It was kind of scary-looking. My Mom leaned in to whisper to me, "Hey, I got to use the Girl's Room. I'll be right back. You can look around while I'm in there. Just stay around here." I nodded to her, and she left.

Flipping through the brochure, I saw that his famous painting, The Fabricated world, was within the Gallery, and had a whole room by itself. I set my mind on that painting later, and began walking around. And from wandering around I saw a fruit painting, a cat painting, and a lame painting of a coughing man. And as I turned the corner, I noticed a rose sculpture, and was suddenly drawn to it. As I walked up to it, I began feeling dizzy. But what knocked me out of it literally was when a little girl, about nine years old, bumped into me, almost knocking me over. Wide-eyed, she apologized, and I noticed she had… red eyes. Not like red eyes like when someone cries a lot, but red as in the color of her eyes, instead of brown or blue, they were red.

"It's ok, I guess." I replied to her apology.

She simply smiled, and kept walking. She was wearing a white button-up shirt, and a red scarf or something, with a matching skirt. She also had long brown hair. _She's kind of cute_, I thought to myself. I decided to search for the "Fabricated World" painting next, but found that I couldn't find it easily. I shyly asked a random person for directions, and was on my way. A turn out there was a second floor that I had not yet discovered. The painting was in a small room off to the side, and I found that no one was in it, which was strange. As I walked into the room, and gazed upon the painting, my heart began to race.

It was my vision on a canvas. There were headless statues, eerie pictures of women, and roses. My heart raced as I saw the reality of my vision, and that I was possibly crazy, because I hadn't seen this painting before, and still knowing what was on it.

I was on the verge of screaming when the lights suddenly flickered, and instead of the quiet elevator-type music that was playing, it was replaced with what sounded like the soundtrack of a horror movie. I jumped back in fear when suddenly, similar to a typewriter, words typed across the white wall, spelling out, "Anna, come and plaaay…" The scream that would have escaped me stuck in my throat. My hands began shaking, and I clutched the straps of my small backpack. I swallowed hard as I walked out of the small room.

The first thing I noticed is that no one was around. I tried to reassure myself by saying that maybe they just went downstairs. I had the feeling of being watched as I passed the paintings, but knowing that it was a ridiculous thought made me shake my head. I began to watch the paintings as I passed by, not knowing what I was expecting through this action. I looked at the cat painting, because the eyes… they seemed to look past me, and into my soul. _No, that's ridiculous._ I tried using reason to convince myself out of these ridiculous thoughts. I turned to walk away from the painting, when I heard a long and agonizing meow. I froze, my breath hitching, and my hand clenching. I spun around, expecting to see a cat standing behind me, but to only see the cat painting, but its eyes looking the opposite direction. I shivered, starting to walk faster. I found a window, looking through it to see if anyone was in a different room, but saw that no one was. I stepped back, pondering about this. Maybe the museum is closed… _No, it's only about 3 o'clock._ I looked at the clock above the window, seeing that the third hand wasn't moving. It was like time had stopped. _Or it's just a broken clock._ In the corner of my eye, I saw a shadow move in front of the window, and the sudden hope for someone being here other than me sprang. But those hopes were shattered as the shadow returned and banged on the window. I jumped back and screamed, easily startled for some reason. _To think that watching Horror movies all the time would help._ There was a hand print on the window…

I began to walk faster, in sudden panic, to the other side of the wall, seeing that no one was there. Suddenly, I heard a cough. I spun around, only seeing the coughing man painting. Now I was really freaked out. I ran, in panic toward the exit, and saw that the door was closed. I pulled on the door, and found that it was locked. Then I pushed, with the same result.

I looked back at the "Abyss of the Deep." And there seemed to be footprints leading into the painting. The velvet rope had disappeared, and I thought_, someone must have stepped on the painting while it was wet… But…The footprints would be going the other way…_ The logic I had tried to use failed me. I swallowed, and walked up to the footprints. They looked like they were made recently, and still smelled like fresh paint.

As I approached the painting, a small, but inviting voice seemed to whisper in my ear, "Come forward, Black Rose."

Suddenly I was not in control of my own body anymore. All I could do was walk forward. And as I stepped onto the edge of the painting, instead of hitting the floor, my foot seemed to go through the painting. And I began falling into it.

It was like falling into the ocean. I was surrounded by blue, and as I sunk, the blue color darkened, until I was in complete and utter blackness. I reached for nothing, and I felt like I was choking, gasping for a breath that wasn't there. I closed my eyes, which was no different than the darkness I was in, and felt myself falling into nothing…


	2. Chapter 2 - The Rose

As I awoke, the only thing I was aware of was the sharp pain that had suddenly pierced through my brain. The sudden headache felt like my head was splitting in two, and caused me to clutch it painfully. The pain subsided as sudden as it had begun, and I began to notice the change in setting.

I was in a small room, with three doors. One door was behind me, and had red writing all over it, repeating, "Never go back". I stared at that door, wondering who could have written it there.

On the other side of the room stood two other doors, side by side; both of them looking exactly the same. Both doors were purple, and had stars scribbled all over it. The door knobs were strange, because they resembled roses. That's the only thing different about the doors. One rose was blue, the other was red. As I walked up to the doors, writing, as if done by a stamp, appeared on the wall. It read, "Which will you choose?" I swallowed, knowing this was some kind of test. _From who?_ I wondered.

For some reason, the blue rose door lured me. I could feel its pull at my heart; I could feel its significance. I slowly walked up to the door with the blue rose knob, and rested my hand on the knob. And in doing so, a sudden shot of adrenaline suddenly moved through me. The adrenaline I felt as I placed my hand on the knob made my curiosity run wild. I fearlessly opened the door, and stepped inside, into complete darkness.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked behind me to see that the door had disappeared. My eyes widened, and I gasped, feeling the area where the door once was. I looked behind me to see a long corridor, with dimly-lit lanterns along the side. Their light didn't go far, but they were enough. I started to walk down the hallway, my footsteps echoing off the walls. I walked and walked, staring at the wall as I passed. It was lame wallpaper, green with a floral pattern on it. The floor had a long carpet going all the way down the corridor. I stopped walking, trying to see the end of the corridor. I continued walking, and sped up my step.

I kept walking, while going through my backpack, looking for anything useful. I had my sketchbook, art kit, and my phone. My brochure was missing and my wallet was gone. I took out my phone, and because of my trembling fingers, I dropped it. I stopped walking and turned around to pick it up. The realization of what was behind me was terrifying.

I had gone nowhere. I looked behind me to see the wall I had seen earlier. It was like I had barely taken more than two steps away. But I knew that I had taken much more than that. I picked up my phone, finding that it wouldn't even turn on at all. I turned around again, pretending that I hadn't even seen what I had seen. I just continued walking…

I walked and walked until my feet hurt so much I couldn't take another step. As I stopped in my tracks, dreading the moment where I realized what could be behind me, I spun around, only to scream in frustration.

I had the same result. It was like I had only taken a few steps away from the wall. I screamed, and clutched my head, repeating, "I'm going insane, I'm going insane…" I collapsed, and sat down against the wall, and felt a tear leak from my eye. I quickly wiped it away, not wanting to cry. _I have to get out of here... Wherever I am… _

I hadn't even noticed I had fallen asleep until I woke up with a terrible pain in my back. I had fallen asleep leaning on the wall, with my neck in an awkward position. I stood up, only to realize I was somewhere else. I was in a room, with a small bookshelf in the corner, and a large painting on the wall. The walls on the room were an eerie black, with red written all over them, saying, "Welcome to the World of Guertena," over and over again. And in a closer studying of the painting, I noticed it was a painting of my Mother… In the exact clothes she wore before I came here… _It's strange to think of this place as somewhere else… _I stepped back from the painting. She seemed to have sadness in her eyes.

I gasped as I realized that I was indeed going crazy as I stepped out of the room. It was like I had stepped into an eerie gallery. The walls were black, but paintings were still framed on the walls. The paintings seemed to move on they're own. I looked at a painting with a woman on it, her hair flowing in some imaginary wind. As I stepped closer to the painting, the woman suddenly snapped her head toward me, and to my horror, I saw that she had no face. She began to crawl toward me. I wasn't sure what to do, and realized that no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't look away. And as she seemed to have gotten to the edge of the frame, it was like she met a glass window. She pressed her hand against the "glass"; she left a bright red hand print. I moved on, my hands shaking.

The room was small, with only one door, a large, circular door, with a giant black rose painted on it. It smelled like oil paint, in a closer inspection. As I turned the knob, a cold wind blew from the room, and a single black rose in a vase on a small table stood in the middle of the room.

Writing was scribbled on the opposite wall from me, reading, "The Flawed Rose". I looked at the rose, seeing that it was indeed flawed, the edges of the pedals were wilted, and the rose was completely black. Even the leaves and the stem were black. Suddenly, a great wind flew into the room, and as it blew into my face, I heard someone whisper, "Take the rose, Anna…" with a voice I did not recognize, _How did it know my name? _The room settled as the wind ceased. For some reason, I knew I needed to listen to this wind… _No! Me, listening to wind? I know I'm crazy now. I must hold onto my sanity in this crazy place. _But I knew I had no other choice. I took the rose, and put it into my small backpack, hoping it wouldn't damage in there. I exited the room; I found that another door had appeared. _But, the room used to have only one door! Didn't it?_ I shook my head, knowing in the back of my mind that I needed to get used to the strange events, if I was ever to escape the "World of Guertena"… As I passed through the door, the events that would soon unfold unknown, I felt dread settle into my stomach, yet I still stepped into the unknown, trying not to be afraid.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Lady in Red

It was a large corridor with several other doors within, all the same size and color. Paintings were on the walls, and as I walked past them, they all were like the painting in the previous room. Desperate for a way out, I walked through the first door I saw, and saw a large door with three diamond-shaped indents in it, about the size of my thumbnail. Suddenly, writing appeared on the wall, as if someone had stamped it there. The writing had seemed to have been written in paint, and began to drip a little. The writing read; "Find all the gems, and you will find another treasure…" Another treasure? Was this a game of some sort? If so, who was trying to play? I walked out of the room, knowing that I would have to find all three gems, knowing it was a puzzle of some sort…

I walked into the next room, next to that, and found myself in a narrow corridor, hardly wide enough for my shoulders. It was so dimly lit that I could hardly see 5 yards ahead of me. As I came to the end of the corridor, there was a split in the passageway, two hallways going in opposite directions. A sign on the wall read: "She cannot open doors…" Who is 'She'? I thought to myself as I turned to the right hall. At the end of this hall, there was a painting of a woman with red eyes and a red dress, looking down with an eerie smile on her face. I followed her gaze to see a small diamond-shaped stone. The puzzle! I thought.

I picked up the small stone, and upon closer inspection, I noticed that it seemed to be made out of jade. The green swirled pattern was pretty, and reminded me of the green grass in an open field. I slipped it into my pocket and turned to walk back where I came. Suddenly, I heard a shatter of glass, and a tight grip on my right leg. I whimpered as I felt something sharp dig into my leg. I looked behind me to see the red eyed woman painting, only half of her body outside the frame, reaching for my backpack. I screamed, kicking her as hard as I could. Her tight grip loosened, and I took off running.

As I turned down the hallway in which I came, I saw that there were many more hallways then there once were. It was like I was in a maze. In a panicked frenzy, I took off down the first passage that I saw. I turned left, then right. I looked behind me to see that the red eyed woman was crawling after me, her nails sharp as claws digging into the ground as she pushed herself forward. God she's fast! My heart racing and my limp starting to affect my speed, I whimpered in fear as I began to lose hope of ever finding the door.

As I made a last right turn, I noticed the door that I came from was at the end of the hall. The red eyed woman painting, catching up to me barely got a grip on my leg, tearing my pant leg, leaving long red claw marks on my jeans, and along my leg. I bit my lip from the pain, and still pushed forward. I reached for the doorknob, and swung it open, throwing myself out of the maze, slamming the door behind me. As I collapsed onto the floor, my breathing ragged, I heard banging against the door, and realized the meaning of the sign in that maze… She can't open doors…

I looked at my leg wounds, noticing how deep they were. The blood stained my jeans, and was smeared on my leg. I knew I needed to do something about it, but I wasn't sure exactly what. I knew that I needed to put pressure on the wound with something, so I started with that. I ripped off the shreds of my jeans, and wrapped that around my legs. I couldn't do anything to help my limp, so I would have to deal with it. I checked my backpack to see if the woman had ripped it. And to my relief, she hadn't. But what I did notice was that the rose was missing pedals. I counted eight pedals, and noticed two pedals at the bottom of my bag. I tore off a piece of a pedal that I noticed was going to come off anyway, and winced as I felt a pain in my finger. I looked to see that a wound similar to a paper cut had suddenly formed on my finger. I ripped off another small piece, and winced again as another paper cut appeared on my hand. I gasped when I suddenly realized, the rose reflects and affects my wounds! Not wanting to damage it any further, I put the rose back into my backpack.

I stood slowly, and counted the doors in this room, seeing that there were four doors in total. I entered the door that was next to the maze room, praying that I wouldn't need to run. The room was small, with a couple bookshelves on either side of the room. In the middle of the room, there was a small table with a vase full of water. Next to the table, there was a note on the ground that read, "Replenish your rose, and replenish yourself…" I thought to myself, so if the rose loses pedals, wounds appear on me… But if I place it into a vase of water, will it heal me as well? I took out the rose from my backpack, and placed it into the vase. The rose seemed to revive itself! I counted the pedals, and saw that all ten were there. Even the rips I had left in the pedals were gone. I looked at my hand, and saw no sign of my paper cuts. I gasped, realizing that my leg wasn't hurting anymore, and inspected my leg, carefully taking off the bandages. The cuts were completely healed! I took my rose out of the vase, noticing that there was no more water in the vase. I sighed in relief, knowing if I got hurt again, all I would need to do is give my rose some water.

I skimmed through the books, and noticed a bright green book. The color caught my attention more than the other books, and I took it out of the shelf. And in opening it, I saw that there was another jade diamond inside. It was like a fake book, which is hollow on the inside, and functions as a secret box. I laughed triumphantly, saying, "Only one more!", and slipped it into my pocket.

I left the room, entering the third door in the main room, the fourth being the door where the gem needed to be entered in order to progress. It was a room similar to the maze! The split in the halls read in blue: "She cannot open doors…" I froze. Not again!

I walked to the right, the same way I had before, but found an empty space, shattered glass on the floor. I sighed, yet still felt uneasy. Where is she? Below the empty space, was a label that read, "Lady in Blue."

I left that hallway, and stared at the floor. My eyes widened as I noticed the stain of blood on the grey carpet. The trail led to the hallway to the left. It seemed to be a dead end, but really, it had a sharp turn at the end. I followed the blood, wondering if perhaps I wasn't really alone in this world. I gasped in horror as I noticed two figures at the end of the hall. They seemed to be fighting. As I approached, I noticed that they were wrestling over a bright blue rose. I lunged without a second thought, kicking the painting as hard as I could into the wall. The owner of the rose screamed, "Burn her!" as he handed me a lighter. I quickly lit it and thrust it onto the woman. She let out an inhuman scream, and quickly fell to ashes.

I breathed heavily, and turned to the one I had saved. He brushed off his torn coat, and carefully set his blue rose in his pocket. He brushed away his shaggy silver-blue hair, and held out a hand for me. "Thank you so much, I almost was a goner!" He smiled a handsome smile, and I shook his hand, "My name is Garry."


End file.
